Garage Door Safety Sensor Repair & Alignment

How Garage Door Safety Sensors Work

Two small sensors sit about six inches off the floor, one on each side of the door. One sends an invisible infrared beam and the other receives it. If something breaks the beam while the door is closing, the door reverses. If the beam is blocked before it starts, the door won't close at all.

They've been required on every opener sold in the US since 1993, and they're what keeps a closing door from coming down on a child or a pet.

The small lights on the sensors tell you a lot:

• Both sensor lights steady: the beam is connected and the sensors are working.
• One light off completely: no power to that sensor, usually a wiring problem.
• One light flickering or dim: the sensors are out of alignment, or something is partly blocking the beam.
• Opener light blinking a set number of times: the opener is reporting a sensor fault.

Common Reasons Garage Door Sensors Fail

Most sensor problems aren't electronic. A trash bin, bike or broom leaning in front of one. Dust or a cobweb on a lens. A bracket bumped out of line by a car door. Low sun shining straight down the driveway into the receiver. Wires pinched behind a shelf or chewed by rodents.

We find which one it is, then clean and realign the sensors, repair damaged wiring, or replace a sensor that has failed. If afternoon sun is the problem, a shield or a small change in position usually solves it.

Why We Repair Sensors Instead of Bypassing Them

When sensors act up on and off, it's tempting to disconnect them. We repair them instead. A powered door closing on a child or pet is exactly what they exist to prevent, and a door without working sensors doesn't meet federal safety requirements.

If your sensors keep faulting, we find the reason, whether it's a loose connection, a failing sensor, sun glare or a bracket that won't hold its position, and fix that. Call us and describe what the opener light is doing. We can often pinpoint the problem on the phone.